Delicata Squash and Sausage Gratin

posted by Kalyn Denny on October 28, 2014

Delicata Squash and Sausage Gratin also has green bell pepper and cheese, and this is a delicious easy casserole that’s gluten-free and South Beach Diet Phase Two. And if you love Delicata Squash, you might consider this as a Thanksgiving Recipe, what do you think?

I’m developing an obsession with Delicata Squash, so forgive me for a minute while I rave on about this delicious user-friendly variety of squash. And if you’re wondering how a squash can be user-friendly, it’s because you can eat the skin of Delicata squash, unlike other winter squash varieties! How cool is that?

I came up with this Delicata Squash and Sausage Gratin by default when my nephew Jake and I were trying a recipe idea with a sausage and green pepper mixture stuffed inside Delicata squash, and we ended up with far too much stuffing for the amount of squash we had. So we went to Plan B and made a casserole with the roasted squash, sausage-pepper mixture, and cheese. Jake isn’t the biggest fan of winter squash but he agreed it was really, really good, and when my first photos weren’t that great I made this again with my niece Kara who also loved it. If you like winter squash in general, I bet you’ll love this recipe as much as we did!

Delicata can have either green or yellow strips like the photo above, top left. Cut the squash in chunks about an inch square, saving the ends to dice smaller for the sausage mixture. Toss squash with olive oil and Italian Herb Blend, then roast at 400F/200C for about 25 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, saute the sausage until it’s nicely browned; remove to a bowl. Saute the diced onion and green pepper with a little more Italian herb blend. Cut up the ends of the squash into pieces about 1/3 inch squash and saute; then heat the sausage, onions, peppers, and small pieces of diced squash together for a minute or two.

Spray a large casserole dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. Put squash in the dish and top with the sausage mixture and a layer of grated cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until all the ingredients are hot and the cheese is melted and starting to lightly brown. Serve hot and enjoy!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F/200C.

Wash Delicata squash if needed and cut off the ends in a piece about an inch wide. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and use a sharp spoon to scrape out the seeds and discard. Cut the main part of the squash into pieces about 1 inch square and dice the end pieces into small pieces about 1/3 inch square. (The squash is not peeled before cutting it up; you eat it with the peel on.)

Put the larger squash pieces in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon Italian Herb blend, and salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste. Put squash pieces on a baking sheet (spray with olive oil or non-stick spray if you need it with your baking sheet.)

Roast squash about 25 minutes, or until it’s softened but not completely cooked.

Squeeze the sausage out of the casing and cook until it’s nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner (or potato masher) as it cooks. (Most turkey sausage will release some liquid; just cook until it’s evaporated and the sausage will start to brown.)

Remove the browned sausage to a bowl, add a little more olive oil, and saute the onion and green pepper over medium-high heat until it’s cooked and starting to slightly brown.

Add the other teaspoon of Italian Herb Blend and saute 1 minute more. Remove the onion-pepper mixture to the bowl with the sausage.

Add the rest of the oil (about 2 teaspoons) and add the smaller squash cubes. Saute over medium high heat until the squash is quite soft and starting to slightly brown, about 7-8 minutes.

Add the sausage, onions, and peppers back into the pan and cook just until everything is heated through.

Remove the roasted squash cubes from the oven, leaving oven on. Spray a large glass or crockery casserole dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. (I used a dish that’s about 10 inches x 12 inches, but any size that’s close to that will work.)

Put the hot squash in the bottom of the casserole dish, topping it with the hot sausage/onions/peppers mixture. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake uncovered about 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture is very hot and the cheese is completely melted and nicely browned.

Serve hot.

Notes:

Recipe created by Kalyn. This can be kept in the fridge for several days and reheated in the microwave or in a pan on the stove. I’m guessing it freezes well, although I didn’t have any leftovers to freeze either time I made it!

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

Have you tried kabocha squash? It is another "user-friendly" squash. I think it has such a wonderful flavor too. This is my first fall being a squash eater so I am still working my way through the different varieties. Next on my list is delicata and sweet dumpling!

There was a reason (at least in my mind!) The smaller pieces from the ends end up getting really soft (because they're small and they get sauteed with the veggies) and then semi-dissolve and hold the mixture together a bit more than if those small pieces weren't there. Probably not essential, but I liked the result.